In commercial print shops, multiple pages of a book can be printed on one side of a sheet of output. However, the printing operation is performed manually. The image of each page is placed manually (“manual layout”) in a certain order prior to printing the sheet of output. When the sheets of output are folded and trimmed, a book is produced with the pages of the book in a correct numerical order.
In the context of printing electronic documents using computers and computer printers, the pages of an electronic document are automatically printed on print media (“sheets of output”) using either a “sequential layout” or a “booklet layout”. In a sequential layout for printing, each page of a given electronic document is automatically printed on one side of a sheet of output. Thus, a single sheet of output has, at most, two pages of the electronic document printed on the sheet of output, with one page on each side of the output sheet. In a booklet layout for printing, not more than two pages of the electronic document are automatically printed on one side of a sheet of output. Thus, in the context of printing electronic documents using computers, no more than two pages of an electronic document are automatically printed on one side of a sheet of output.
For the purpose of explanation, FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a system that prints sheets of output using a sequential layout for printing. In FIG. 1, computer 100 is coupled by a data connection 115 to a printer 108. The term “computer” with reference to computer 100 is used in a broad sense to refer to any device that is capable of generating output to an output device. For example, computer 100 may be a mainframe computer, workstation, personal computer, or other device with a processing unit. Similarly, the term “printer” with reference to printer 108 is used in a broad sense to refer to any printer device. Printer 108 may be a laser printer, impact printer, image printer, or other printer device.
Connection 115 may be any data connection between computer 100 and printer 108. For example, connection 115 can be a cable coupled from computer 100 to printer 108, or a wireless data transmission channel. Alternatively, connection 115 is a local area network, internetwork, or Internet connection.
Computer 100 operates under the control of an operating system 102, such as UNIX, Mac OS, or Windows®. An application program 106 runs under the control of operating system 102. Application program 106 may be, for example, a word processor that generates electronic documents or opens existing electronic documents for printing on printer 108. Other examples of application programs 106 include spreadsheet programs, graphics programs, financial applications, etc.
Device driver 104 controls communications of operating system 102 to printer 108. Generally, computer programs called “device drivers” control computer devices such as output devices, disk drives or input devices. The device driver is used as an intermediary to translate communications from other computer programs into a language that the device can understand. The use of a device driver facilitates device independence. For example, when application program 106 is a word processing program, the word processing program cannot directly instruct printer 108 on how to print a particular page from the electronic document. Instead, the word processing program instructs the operating system to send the page that is to be printed to printer 108. Operating system 102 forwards the page to device driver 104. Device driver 104 converts the page into a format that printer 108 can understand.
Device drivers normally generate output in a printer-specific manner. For example, an output device such as a computer printer can only understand instructions written in a specialized language such as a Page Description Language (“PDL”). The term PDL refers to a class of source languages that are used for describing the layout and content of a printed page, and to control computer printers. There are several PDLs, such as PostScript and Hewlett-Packard's Printer Control Language (“PCL”).
For the purpose of explanation, assume a user uses application program 106 to access an electronic document. Further assume that the user invokes a print command to print eight pages from the electronic document using a sequential layout for printing. Operating system 102 forwards the eight pages of the electronic document to device driver 104. Device driver converts the eight pages of the electronic document into a format that can be understood by printer 108.
As a result, as shown FIG. 1, printer 108 prints out the eight pages of the electronic document on four sheets of output 120, 122, 124 and 126 using a sequential layout for printing. Each side of each of the four sheets of output has one of the eight pages from the electronic document printed on it. For example, on the front side of the sheet of output 120, the first page of the electronic document is printed and marked as page “1” as shown by the pagination indicator 118. On the other side of the sheet of output 120, the second page of the electronic document is printed and marked as page “2” as shown by the pagination indicator 116. An example of appropriate print media for the four sheets of output 120, 122, 1124, and 126 is printer paper.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a system that prints sheets of output using a booklet layout for printing. In FIG. 2 a user uses application program 106 to access an electronic document. Assume that the user invokes a print command to print twelve pages from the electronic document using a booklet layout for printing. Operating system 102 forwards the twelve pages of the electronic document to device driver 104. Device driver converts the twelve pages of the electronic document into a format that can be understood by printer 108.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, printer 108 prints out the twelve pages of the electronic document on three sheets of output 208, 210, and 212 using the booklet layout for printing. Each side of each of the three sheets of output has printed on it, two pages of the twelve pages of the electronic document. For example, on the front side of sheet of output 208 is printed the second and eleventh pages of the electronic document. The second and eleventh pages are marked as pages “2” and “11” as shown by pagination indicators 216 and 218, respectively. Sheet of output 208 has a folding line 222 to separate the second page from the eleventh page. On the flip side of sheet of output 208 is printed the first and twelfth pages of the electronic document. The first and twelfth pages are marked as pages “1” and “12” as shown by pagination indicators 214 and 220, respectively.
Sheets of output 210 and 212 also have folding lines 224 and 226, respectively. Sheets of output 208, 210 and 212 are folded along their respective folding lines to form a booklet of twelve pages. The folded sheets of output are nested so that sheet of output 208 is the outermost sheet and sheet of output 210 is sandwiched between sheet of output 208 and 212. Thus, the pages of the booklet have the correct numerical order.
Based on the foregoing, there is a clear need for a method to automatically print a plurality of sheets of output that have more than two pages on each side of a given sheet of output of the plurality of sheets of output. There is a further need for an approach for automatically printing a plurality of sheets of output that have more than two pages on each side of a given sheet of output of the plurality of sheets of output, wherein the pages are separated by folding lines such that when the plurality of sheets of output are folded to form a book, the pages of the book are in the correct numerical order.